“What influences me? Color, shape and how elements and angles come together. The natural growth of gems and rocks as they’re formed really gets me going.”

Daria de Koning is the singular force behind her line of handcrafted fine jewelry based in the creative enclave of Silverlake, California. The daughter of an artistic Dutch immigrant and a fifth-generation American, Daria spent her childhood summers traveling from her family home in New York City to the Netherlands, the center of modern design. This juxtaposition of European modernism with a formal American upbringing deeply influenced her design sense and is at the core of her unique aesthetic.

Inspired by her love of painting and impressionism, Daria saw in cabochon-cut stones a pure color source unaltered by the glitter of faceted cuts that would allow her to “paint with gems.” Tapping into precious stones like emeralds and sapphires for their intensely saturated hues, but also the unusual and highly refractive ones like blue opals, rainbow moonstones and labradorite brings Daria’s work to life.